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Pets displaced by foreclosures burden animal shelter

The rise in housing foreclosures has landed many household pets in overcrowded animal shelters across the country.

The Humane Society animal shelter in Redwook Valley, California, which currently houses 24 dogs and more than 100 cats, is in danger of closing if it does not begin to raise money, the Ukiah Daily Journal reports.

According to Sheryl Mitcham, the shelter director, the slumping economy has diminished the number of donations the shelter sees, while foreclosed houses and displaced pets are causing an increase in animals entering the shelter.

Specifically, Mitcham says the number of cats entering the Humane Society animal housing has increased by about 30 percent in the last year, while funding has dropped by about half. The shelter is now brainstorming new ideas to raise $120,000 to continue its standard of pet care.

Kennel manager Stacy Dennett told the news source, "Our adoptions are really, really way down. If we get highly adoptable dog, sometimes it’ll be gone in 24 hours. But we have highly adoptable dogs that have been here for months."

The shelter, which has a no-kill policy, has begun to ask for a $40 donation for people surrendering animals, to cover the cost of pet care.

The U.S. Humane Society estimates that 6 million to 8 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year, and about half are eventually euthanized.